NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

JOEL I. KLEIN, CHANCELLOR

PRESS OFFICE

212-374-5141

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

N-1, 2003-2004

SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR JOEL I. KLEIN ANNOUNCES OPENING

OF NEW YORK CITY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY AND WELCOMES

FIRST CLASS OF ASPIRING PRINCIPALS INTO LEADERSHIP

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Wallace Foundation Presents First $5 Million of its Three-Year $15 million Grant to Support Leadership Academy

(July 07, 2003)- Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today announced the opening of the New York City Leadership Academy and greeted the first class of 90 aspiring principals to attend the Academy. Deputy Mayor Walcott joined Chancellor Klein at the announcement, as well as Wallace Foundation President M. Christine DeVita, who presented Chancellor Klein with a check for $5 million, the first installment of the Foundation’s three-year $15 million grant to the Academy. The Wallace Foundation’s gift is the largest donation to the Academy by a single donor and is among the initial seed money which has enabled the Leadership Academy to begin training aspiring principals this summer.

The Leadership Academy is a cornerstone of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s and Chancellor Klein’s Children First Reform efforts and was established to recruit and train outstanding principals to lead New York City’s public schools. The 90 candidates who arrived today at Department of Education headquarters are entering the Academy’s Aspiring Principals Program, a rigorous 15-month leadership development program for future school leaders.

“Experience shows that great leaders create great schools,” Chancellor Klein said. “Recruiting, training, and supporting excellent principals are critical to our efforts to transform our City’s schools. The Academy will provide aspiring principals with an unprecedented level of leadership training and prepare them to take on the challenge of providing the children of our City with the high-quality education they deserve. I am grateful to The Wallace Foundation for its ground-breaking and generous support of the Leadership Academy and the Aspiring Principals Program.”

“New York City’s parents should be able to have confidence that the principals of their children’s schools are effective educational leaders,” Deputy Mayor Walcott said. “The Leadership Academy and the system-wide reforms that support and strengthen school leadership will make this aspiration a reality. We are encouraged by the strong support that The Wallace Foundation and other members of the private sector are providing to the Academy and our reform efforts.”

“We are delighted to support the Leadership Academy, which will ensure that future principals are not only well prepared for the job but also given the on-the-job support they need to succeed in lifting the performance of all students,” said M. Christine DeVita, president of The Wallace Foundation. “The Wallace Foundation is working directly with states and districts across the country, including New York, who are re-imagining school leadership. By capturing and sharing lessons from these pioneering efforts, we can help improve the quality of education for all children.”

The Leadership Academy is the centerpiece of the Department of Education’s system-wide effort to create more effective schools. The Academy is providing leadership development programs for aspiring principals, new principals, and existing principals. The 15-month Aspiring Principals Program, which commences today, is the first of the Academy’s programs will utilize problem-based, experiential learning and will provide candidates with strong leadership development and a one-year residency in a New York City public school under the guidance of an experienced mentor principal.

The members of the first class of 90 aspiring principals were chosen through a rigorous selection process. Over 10% of the class hails from outside the New York City school system. Other candidates have previously served within the City’s school system and are returning to the system after successful private sector careers or work in other school systems, while others are new to the City’s schools. 60% of the incoming class is comprised of African-American, Latino, or Asian candidates, and about 70% is female. The ages of the aspiring principals range from 26 to 66. Approximately one third of the candidates have prior school supervisory experience and two thirds have teaching, staff development, guidance, or other pedagogical experience.

Later this summer, the Leadership Academy will launch its New Principal On-Boarding Program for new principals who will be starting work at schools in September. The Principal Leadership Development Program for incumbent principals will also begin in September.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Leadership Academy is Bob Knowling, the former CEO of Covad Communications and SimDesk Technologies Inc., who also created and managed leadership academies at both Ameritech and US West. Mr. Knowling is working with a team of experienced, world-class educators and business experts to provide practical training programs that combine organizational change management, leadership development, and instructional leadership training. Sandra Stein, the former director of the Aspiring Leaders Program at Baruch College serves as the Academy’s Academic Dean. The Leadership Academy’s Advisory Board is chaired by Jack Welch, the former Chief Executive Officer of General Electric. The Academy is an independent 501(c) (3) non-profit corporation and is funded by corporate and philanthropic giving. In addition to the strong financial support of The Wallace Foundation, the Leadership Academy has also received a $30 million commitment from the Partnership for the City of New York. The fundraising efforts for the Academy are being coordinated by the Office of Strategic Partnerships, led by Caroline Kennedy.

The Wallace Foundation, created from the bequests of DeWitt and Lila Wallace, supports and shares ideas, practices, and solutions that improve student achievement through stronger education leadership, enhance after-school learning opportunities, and expand participation in arts and culture. It is one of the largest national foundations that focus on K-12 public education, having invested more than $400 million from 1988 to 1999 in initiatives designed to improve teaching and learning in the nation’s schools.

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